1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a latch for a door of a vehicle and, more particularly, to a latch having three independent actuating members.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In vehicles, such as earthmoving equipment, it is not uncommon for the cabs to be high or relatively inaccessible from the ground, necessitating an outside door latch that can serve both as a hand hold to assist in pulling an operator up from the ground and, at the same time, can serve as a door actuator. Likewise, such vehicles do, on occasion, encounter emergency situations where an operator on the inside of the cab mut be able to actuate an internal handle quickly to permit a rapid exit from the cab. Due to the relatively rough use afforded the internal and external actuating means, occasionally one or both such means become inoperative necessitating some additional actuating means for permitting the cab door to be opened, particularly from the inside.
Currently, there are in existence devices, such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,417,239, that permit both internal and external actuation of a latch, but with no latch override (or third) actuating means. In another piece of prior art, such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,806,940, there is provided an external actuating lever with an internal actuating member acting directly on the latch, but this device lacks a regular internal actuating lever. Still a third and a fourth piece of prior art, such as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,845,646 and 1,908,958, have internal and external actuating levers with means for deactivating the external actuating lever while permitting the internal actuating lever to continue to operate. However, these devices still do not provide an override actuating means which can be operated from within, independent of either of the internal or external actuating lever.